July 11, 2021

197: Growing Downward

31 minutes

We're taught by our culture to think in polarities - something is either good, or bad; worthwhile, or a waste of time; valuable, or worthless. And because of this we often judge ourselves and our lives in polarised terms too - we're broken, or whole; empty, or full - which in turn leads us into efforting to 'get' the side of the polarity we judge as the right one. Where does this polarised thinking lead us? And might there be another way?

This week's Turning Towards Life is a dive into the depths beneath and beyond polarisation, hosted as always by Lizzie Winn and Justin Wise of Thirdspace.

This is Turning Towards Life, a weekly live 30 minute conversation hosted by Thirdspace in which Justin Wise and Lizzie Winn dive deep into big questions of human living. Find us on FaceBook to watch live and join in the lively conversation on this episode. You can find videos of every episode, and more about the project on the Turning Towards Life website, and you can also watch and listen on Instagram, YouTube, and as a podcast on Apple, Google and Spotify.

Here's our source for this week:

Growing downward

Be broken to be whole.

Twist to be straight.

Be empty to be full.

Wear out to be renewed.

Have little and gain much.

Have much and get confused.

So wise souls hold to the one, and test all things against it.

Not showing themselves, they shine forth.

Not justifying themselves, they’re self-evident.

Not praising themselves, they’re accomplished.

Not competing, they have in all the world no competitor.

What they used to say in the old days,

“Be broken to be whole,” was that mistaken?

Truly, to be whole is to return.

Ursula K Le Guin, translation from 'Tao Te Ching' by Lao Tzu

Photo by Motoki Tonn on Unsplash

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